Apologize My Ass (2) (The Opportunity Series)

Young Oliver Ellison loves his summers in Opp, Alabama. Most of his family, except his parents, live there and take it upon themselves to demonstrate life lessons, good and bad. His bicycle gives him the freedom to ride back and forth across the town of 6,493 from grandmother's house to grandmother's house. His Gigi and Nanny have a mutual goal: raising him into a gentleman. Along his rides, he stops to take in the sights and sounds of the small village. Oliver is seemingly invisible to adults. They speak freely around him as they share the day's gossip. This particular summer, when Oliver was twelve, was the hottest on record. People tried to do anything to stay cool and not lose their temper. But heat makes tempers short, and coupled with the fact that two young boys had run their truck into the nearby Dothan television station antenna - making it impossible to watch their shows- made for boredom combined with irritability. Oliver has two misanthropic, miserly, old maid great-uncles, partners in a gas station halfway between grandmothers. A stop there was a daily occurrence, to sit unnoticed between the uncles and have a soda, "but just one". It is here from his stool that he overhears a conversation between the old men. A conversation that became a misunderstanding. A misunderstanding that led to a fight between brothers that spread through the town. People choosing sides as people are prone to do. A stupid disagreement that was the spark that set Opp ablaze. "Is it braggin' to say I saved a town?" This question begins the retelling of the story by the now fourteen-year-old Oliver - with the occasional help of an omniscient co-narrator - as he tries desperately to be heard. It is a story that pairs the absurd with the sentimental. A good versus evil tale that involves Opp's eclectic cast of characters that feed the reader's imagination from the very first taste. Bellicose, audacious, comical, vindictive, narcissistic, wise, and brave -all the elements of humanity are stirred to life in this coming of age story.

• | Author: Lee Smith
• | Publisher: Bookbaby
• | Publication Date: Jun 27, 2023
• | Number of Pages: 234 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1667884794
• | ISBN-13: 9781667884790